August 26, 2012

Yesterday (8/25/12) Neil Armstrong left us. Not to travel to the moon and back again, but instead he is forever a part of the Cosmos that exists beyond our tiny Spaceship we call Earth.

In 1969, Ornette Coleman released a 7" single to celebrate the Moon Landing. This rare, out of print gem was issued by Impulse and was only available in France. It's no surprise that Ornette would create music in response to Space travel. His music looked to the future (and still does) in time that was stepping into the future.

August 2, 2012

This is another ambitious record from the Brooklyn based label, OutNow Recordings; which is their second that features Yoni Kretzmer as a leader. In OutNows' eighth release, Weight provides a solid example of how the Avant-Garde remains fresh in today's music scene.

Weight contains a double bass quartet. OutNow states that "this quartet's sound is obvious yet unfamiliar simultaneously." I couldn't agree more with that testament. While Kretzmer is drawing on the similar platform to his standard trio, these eight cuts were composed with the double bass quartet specifically in mind. With extended amounts of double bass (quadruple bass? jk) we're left
with warm, low tones that interact well with one another. Sort
of like a mega bass player in the personnel, everything is anchored but there is still a significant unbalance that lends to a unique listening experience.

The jagged percussion by Mike Pride, and the accompaniment of bassists Sean Conly and Reuben Redding provide the perfect atmosphere for Kretzmer to display his craft. In my humble opinion, Kretzmer is one of the finest contemporary
saxophonists of the genre. He knows how to create wonderful melodies
and licks that are surrounded by, what seems to be, a controlled chaos. Which allows breathing room for each player to have their moment under the
sun.

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Writings about different albums primarily from the 1960s of the avant-garde. However, I may touch on titles pertaining to bop, hard-bop, soul jazz and post bop, as well as contemporary avant-garde releases.